Sam Cane was unfairly cast in Richie McCaw's shadow for too long

I’ll remember Sam Cane as a thoroughly decent man.

I hope his days involved with rugby – or in other aspects of public life – don’t cease once his time as an All Black officially comes to an end after this year.

Cane is someone with a lot to offer New Zealand, well beyond the realm of rugby.

I see Olympic gold medal-winning rower Mahe Drysdale running for the office of Mayor of Tauranga. Cane could do that and then some.

I’m not sure why Cane continued his international rugby career as long as he did or why he hasn’t retired effective immediately.

After the head knocks he’s suffered, and the broken neck, no-one would have begrudged him putting his health first well before now.

Nor would he have been especially missed from the All Blacks in a playing capacity.

His retention as captain in recent years – and New Zealand Rugby’s apparent insistence that skippers only step down at a time of their own choosing – placed unnecessary scrutiny upon Cane.

Many in the nation’s fanbase questioned his continued selection at openside flanker, which led to unfair criticism of the man himself.

Players don’t pick themselves. And, since the reign of Richie McCaw, our governing body has seemingly decided that captains are sacrosanct.

We saw it with Kieran Read and we continued the folly with Cane.

McCaw’s durability and sustained excellence were unique, but we seemed to believe his successors were cut from the same cloth.

They weren’t and there’s no disgrace in that.

Cane was a brave player. He put his head where others wouldn’t put their feet and I think we’d all commend him for that.

The fact his All Black career is now all-but over is unlikely to sadden anyone and I don’t subscribe to a view that the new coaching staff owe him anything.

It’s nice that Scott Robertson and Cane conversed over Facetime or Zoom or whatever before the retirement became public, but who cares whether the captain jumped or was pushed.

Cane is yesterday’s man, in an All Blacks sense, and this day should’ve come far sooner than it did.

I’d like that to be the lesson from his career.

That captains can actually come and go. That, yes, coaches and selectors do need to communicate changes in a respectful way when they believe a skipper’s time is done, but that these aren’t jobs for life.

This is just a sports team, after all.

I absolutely cringe at the way – particularly in the media – we react to the words and deeds of All Blacks coaches and captains.

The hushed tones, the nods of approval, the continued promotion of this nonsense that these men are somehow supernatural beings.

Cane always seemed a very natural and normal guy. He didn’t demand deference from anyone or project an image that he was better than the rest of us.

He was just a guy who loved rugby, was given quite a big job and was doing his best to live up to the expectations that came with it.

I’m not sure he ever achieved that. But that’s partly because our expectations have gone so far out of whack as a result of the career and success McCaw had.

In that regard, I thought Cane was among the more human and relatable All Blacks captains of my lifetime and why I think he still has a lot more to offer this country.

I wish him well in Japan and hope he can eventually leave the game on his own terms and not as a result of serious injury.

He’s carried himself with dignity, humility and class and those traits will stand him in good stead long after his playing days are over.